Channelview killer sentenced to 50 years for girlfriend's slaying

By Brian Rogers |
March 26, 2013
| Updated: March 26, 2013 9:54pm

Robin Lynn Prince was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend in 2009.

ROBIN PRINCE (DOB 2/5/1973)
A man with a long criminal history is scheduled to appear in court this morning after being charged with the stabbing death of a woman found dead in her apartment in east Harris County.
Robin Lynn Prince, 36, is accused of murdering Christina Lewis, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Prince is in the Harris County jail without bond.
Lewis' body was discovered in her home in the 600 block of West Drive about 6 a.m. Friday.
Prince was arrested without incident in the 5000 block of Dairy Oaks in Crosby about 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
Prince has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1999, according to county records. He's been convicted of assault and drug charges.

Photo By Family photo

This is a family-contributed photo of Christina Guerra Lewis, 30, of Channelview, who was found stabbed to death in her bed at her Channelview trailer home, Sept. 18, 2009.

Robin Lynn Prince's former girlfriend was contemplating filing rape charges against him when he went to her Channelview house in the middle of the night in September 2009.

As the two fought, they ended up in the bedroom that belonged to the 30-year-old mother of three. That's where Christina Lewis lost her life.

"He held her down, and he slit her throat," prosecutor Adam Muldrow said Tuesday as he argued against the 40-year-old career felon. "Life in prison is the only appropriate punishment."

After hearing a week of testimony and listening to a jury find Prince guilty of murder Tuesday, state District Judge Jeannine Barr sentenced him to 50 years in prison.

Asked if he had anything to say before being taken to prison, Prince was adamant. "Yes," he said. "I'm innocent."

After the sentence was handed down, Prince's father said it was not fair, but did not comment further. David Vercher, 62, had testified that his son was a good worker who had a tough upbringing. He said Prince's mother is in prison for killing a boyfriend.

The victim's family said 50 years in prison was justice and that Prince will one day face another judgment day.

"You took away a daughter, a mother of three and a sister," Lewis' mother, Judy Holland, said during a victim impact statement after the sentence. "But we forgive you for what you've done, because God has forgiven us."

Defense attorney Allen Tanner had argued that someone else went into Lewis' trailer and killed her in the early hours of Sept. 18, 2009, but there was little evidence of it.

The evidence did show that Prince had another girlfriend drive him to trailer that night. That woman testified that she saw Prince and Lewis shouting at each other then disappear in to the trailer.

After more than an hour, she said, Prince came out of the mobile home holding the shirt he had been wearing. The couple went home where Prince showered and burned his clothes.

A day later, he was in jail without bail, charged with murder. Witnesses' testimony showed that Lewis was considering filing charges against Prince for raping, beating and stealing money from her days before the stabbing.

Last week, the jury saw a crime scene photo of Lewis on her knees at the foot of her bed with her head on the mattress in a pool of blood.

Prince will have to serve at least 25 years before being eligible for parole.